WVU vs Ohio University

[Gator]

Is it me, or does yesterday's 26-19 loss to the Bobcats once again expose lack of A) Coaching ability B) recruiting effort(especially the great wrestlers here in WV!) C) the immediate need for a new coach D) all the above? Someone needs to pressure Luck to search for a new coach or move Greg Jones up a notch!

[mscoach72]

Gator,

I was there and was very surprised to see a couple of WVU guys appear to gas out. The Heavy Weight was eventually DQed on stall calls. I do not follow WVU closely and maybe some of these guys were returning after injuries or something. Not taking anything from OU they have some solid guys. WVU has a couple of solid guys too, but it would be nice to see more WV guys on the roster.

[Gator]

I agree coach. Dylan Cottrell and Justin Arthur come to mind quickly. If WVU is going to compete in the Big 12 and on a national level, something has to change. And OU does have a good program in place. Someone there is doing something right. They have a couple of WV kids on their roster in Athens.

[aacoach62]

I would hope something would be done sometime soon. The past few year I have watched WV high school wrestler after wrestler leave WV for other D1 programs. I think Radar and Litton are the last WV kids to come to WVU on scholarship.(back when Zeke Jones was in Mtown). When they were at WVU I came to almost every home match. Why because I watched them wrestle in high school. My WV pride showed every time they took the mat. I don't think anyone on the current staff is the answer. Bring someone in and start over. A new culture for wrestling needs to be established at WVU. With the schools location, recruiting should not be a problem. The current faculties are good. A good program could be built at WVU. What a way to spend an afternoon in Morgantown watching Cottrell, Arthur or others wrestling in the Blue and Gold of the Mountaineers.

[dunbar76]

I have noticed in previous matches conditioning seemed to be a bit lacking. Somewhat shocking. They did pounce a couple of old EWL rivals, no slouches, but we are in trouble in the Big 12. They did beat a Big 10 team earlier in the season away. Not a small task. HWT dq'd for stalling? LOL, if this is true, never should have happened or we got some big home cooking, one or the other. Both are not acceptable.

[rodrego]

Here is the deal folks...............college wrestling is the hardest thing to try and attempt in America for a young student athlete........how many guys on this forum have actually competed for a full tour of duty (4-5 years)? Not me....... too tough......Studies....girls....parties......lack of money.....mat burn hurts when you take a shower.......blown knees.......elbows........shoulders.........necks.......etc.......Div. 1 athletes in WV are rare, that's the cold hard truth. I think that Cotrill , Arthur, and Haught are def. D1 material. I would like to see them in Blue and gold myself. I went to Nate Carrs camp back in the day......Turnbull said he would not even look at a WV kid unless they are Phenoms.....I can't really blame him in a way because he is from PA.........PA is numero uno folks...sorry. They have 13 million humans that have a tradition of whooping rear end.....In WV we have 1.8 million humans that have a tradition of sitting in tree stands for a deer. turnbull should step down..........been around too long......jones is not the answer.......how about Mark Perry or Sammy the bull Henson.........the program needs new hungry blood.....

[rodrego]

.....also....I need to add that I love WV, don't get me wrong, we need a new head coach that tries to bring the state UP, not tear us down. Chertow really brought the level of wrestling up a notch in the early 90's......we need wv wrestlers that actually wrestled at wvu to lead the charge......new blood......we need the bull.....Sammy the bull............

[Qualityshots]

I think we should look at a couple things here. Rodrego states that Turnbull said he would not look at WV wrestlers unless they were phonoms. So I guess the WVU team is loaded with Phenoms. I don't think so. Here is what could have happened if WV wrestlers were given a chance. I don't think anyone could disagree

125- Ryan Diehl (About as Phenom as Phenom Gets) or Justin Riggs
133- Ryan Diehl or Josh Fisher
141- Colin Johnston (Out of State Wrestler but a good signing)
149- Dylan Cottrill or Justin Arthur
157- Dylan Cottrill, Justin Arthur, or Damen Capper
165- Ben Laughlin
174- Jared Haught
184- Tory Bennett
197- David Hicks
HW- Matthew Parkinson, David Hicks, Tom Collins

I go to WV matches and from what I have seen is the conditioning of our wrestlers versus say Iowa or Michigan etc. There just isn't any urgency. So it seems. Jones was great for WVU and it seems like he tries to get guys pumped up. Turnbull on the other hand is not focused on winning championships. So it seems

[rodrego]

Quality.....yeah it wouldn't hurt to have a few in state kids on the team......I don't care if all of them are from Oregon....lets field a competitive team. Some of the kids you listed don't even want to wrestle in college.....why would you even list them as possibilities? College wrestling is TOUGH. Sometimes a 20 time state champ doesn't cut the mustard in college.....sometimes a state placer thrives....posting on this forum is easy.....u dig.

[cspranger]

Fact is, Turnbull doesn't have the juice to interest blue chip prospects. His disinterest in the best WV has to offer is evidence of short sightedness. It is time for WVU to make a change. I agree that Jones is not the answer. Time to pony up on salary and bring in a big name guy who can attract recruits + who will not turn up his nose to what is right in front of him. It's either that or continue the exciting mediocrity.

[dunbar76]

LOL, I hope it's a bigger name than Holgerson was to the football team.

[wvwrestlingfan1]

Qualityshots, that would be a dream line up! Especially with the success Cottrell and Arthur are experiencing. A WVU team could be very successful with just some of the talented kids our state has produced alone in recent years.But don't forget the two former AA/A wrestlers there now who can hopefully make us and the state proud if given the chance. But I believe it is time for a change and I do not think the answer is on the current staff. It's sad that a team with a 3x NCAA champ and a 2009 world team member on staff cannot produce a quality product on the mat to represent our state on a national stage. Maybe Luck will look in a new direction. But I wouldn't hold my breath on that one lol

[Qualityshots]

Most of the guys I listed do wrestle for college. And the rest would have if approached by WVU. My point though was why are we going out of state to sign wrestlers that we could have had in state. Imagine the crowds if these guys were on the team. And yes I understand that college wrestling is hard. Knowing this lets just take Dylan, Ryan and Justin for instance. These guys are potential NCAA Champs. They have worked under the same program as most of these guys. Something has to give. Mind you Im not saying sign all WV wrestlers but give them a shot if they would succeed. And yes Im very proud of our AA guys there. We looked for Chris at the Pitt dual and didn't see him. Unless he just a lot bigger. He is a great guy brought up by some great folks. Good Luck to him.

[rodrego]

#1 candidate .....mark perry...can recruit and develop............great fit for the big 12 ...I am sure he would love to show his uncle John how it is done. He can literally recruit from Cali to jersey

[rodrego]

#2 candidate.....Sammy the bull Henson......not certain if he could pull in the recruits ....can't be argued that he is one of the best developers....kids respond or perish...sure he is a maniac....but maybe he is just what morganhole needs

[rodrego]

#3.....Donny pritzlaff.....can recruit and develop....he turns kids into human smashing machines......a mould of himself so to speak.....would love to get some payback from meetchicken.....they stole some questionably good coaches from us not so long ago

[rodrego]

#4.....Zeke jones......obvious choice.....been here and was great.....could we pull him from the OTC????..... Would we harm American freestyle wrestling if we showed him the money????....is he too old??...bottom line....safe proven product

[dunbar76]

As a previous responder pointed out, recruiting is a numbers game. We've missed some WV kids but so does football and basketball. At 9.9 scholarships for 10 weight classes, well, you must be picky. I stated in a previous thread a few years ago when Penn State got Sanderson as their coach, it was a game changer. I was correct. Make Turnbull "Coach Emeritus" recognize him for his service and fine coaching record. He greatly expanded WVU's All American list and National Champion list. Then go get a BIG name on the same scale as Sanderson.

[Gator]

Rodrego quote: ..."Turnbull said he would not even look at a WV kid unless they are Phenoms"

He recruited his own kid, Kyle Turnbull. Not exactly a WV phenom. How's that work out for him?

One name that I've heard may be interested in coaching at WVU is Cary Kolat. Seems like a good fit to me.

[rodrego]

Kolat is a logical choice......but I would argue my four choices are proven....Kolat has been at unc for awhile....not much for results

[rodrego]

No human is on the same scale as Sanderson.....you would have to look outside of the milkyway galaxy to find a being near his level

[aacoach62]

Rodrego quote: ..."Turnbull said he would not even look at a WV kid unless they are Phenoms"

He recruited his own kid, Kyle Turnbull. Not exactly a WV phenom. How's that work out for him?

One name that I've heard may be interested in coaching at WVU is Cary Kolat. Seems like a good fit to me.

Great point Gator, If his son deserved a shot, several even better WV kids deserved one to!!

[EFWrestlerDad]

Well I've managed to keep my fingers tight fisted but now that I've 'graduated' to this level of parenting, I'd like to chime in on this thread.
Being a parent of a pretty decent wrestler, I have to say that what I've seen out of the WVU wrestling program recently is mediocre, best. Phenoms? They better reevaluate what that means.
I think last season's senior class had several grapplers with the skill set and drive to compete at the D1 level. I watched Jared, Justin, Jesse and Jake prove themselves as great wresters able to compete with the Nation's best at Virginia Beach in April. I can't speak for the 3 of them but I know for a fact WVU never approached my son nor was I really looking for them to do so.
This forum whether it be on the High School or Collegiate side of things, I feel, has a great influence on our perspective of the state of wrestling in our state.
This topic has been beat to death and its indeed unfortunate for a major university with such a history of great wrestling and wrestlers to be such a black eye on the sport in recent years.
At this point, even if my son was recruited by them I not sure we would even entertain such an invite after everything I've read hear about them over the past 5 or so years. I also feel many WV parents of good wrestlers feel the same. The word of mouth at this point for WVU is a big negative in my book; deserved or not.
I'm sure WVU could care less what I think. What do I know? I'm just a parent and student of the state sport. I guess we just agree we're not happy and they'll go on with what it is they do.
I don't think even a coaching change is a fix to this assumed problem of in-state recruitment but it could be a fresh start.
No worries though...I will continue to be a fan of my alma mater and Roman is fine with his decision to wrestle at West Liberty.

[dunbar76]

You can't tell me there is not another coach of Sanderson's quality out there. When we have a opportunity to bring in someone special we better do it.

[dunbar76]

Maybe a Kyle Dake would be interested in a head job.

[rodrego]

Kyle Dake? You serious? I guess a 24 year old kid would be a good candidate. Hahaha.

[dunbar76]

Turnbull was not much older when he took over. I don't think he was 30 yet. I'd be shocked if Zeke Jones came back. Sanderson had little head coaching experience when he took his first job. If I recall his first head job, he got an already stacked team. Dake is currently an assistant at Cornell. He may still be a few years away for he is still trying to make the next a Olympic team. It's just a name to throw out there. You want passion and wrestling experience. Four titles at four different weight classes. If he can relate at the coaching level, recruit and get an assistant who knows what he is doing, it's as good of a choice as any other. Troy Letters I think is 30-31 and he was a D1 head coach last year. But I don't think Oliver Luck will come forth with enough dough to get a totally proven coach. Yes, half serious.

[rodrego]

That is cool....what do you think of the bull?

[csmith11]

Zeke jones wife is from Morgantown if a job is offered he might have extra persuasion to take it. Lol

[rodrego]

Ollie luck is a sharp feller.....my bet is that he brings Zeke back........which would be cool....But we should still look at the bull